First published 2026
Ethel Gathers walks the rubble-filled streets of occupied Germany beside her American soldier husband. She cannot have children of her own. When she spots mixed-race children trailing behind a nun, something pulls her to follow them. She needs to understand their story. Meanwhile, Ozzie Philips has volunteered for army service to prove himself as a Black soldier. The racism from his Philadelphia home has crossed the ocean with him. He finds comfort with Jelka, a German woman whose country lies in ruins around her. Years later in 1965, Sophia Clark wins a chance to integrate a Maryland boarding school. She can finally escape her cruel parents and their crushing expectations. A conversation with another student reveals a secret that changes everything she believed about herself. Three lives connect across decades through one woman's choice to act on what she witnessed in the aftermath of war.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, 21st-century, family-drama, african-american-historical-fiction
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, secrets
Setting: Germany, Maryland
Period: 1940s, 1960s
464 pages · Paperback · Simon & Schuster
Content warnings: racism